The 40 Most Disappointing Draft Picks of All Time

When professional sports franchises get a high draft pick, the hope is that the athlete can grow into franchise-changing superstar to bring the team to a championship level. While players like Sidney Crosby and LeBron James lived up to expectations, other athletes who seemed destined for greatness never did.

Whether due to injuries, character issues, or just bad luck, lots of high draft picks failed to help the teams that drafted them. Wasting a high pick on a player who doesn’t produce can set a franchise back years.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the length and quality of the professional careers of high draft selections in the four major sports to determine the most disappointing draft picks in American sports history.